Not mentioned in the story is real estate developer J. Paul Beitler, who back in 2000 was in tense negotiations with the city of Chicago and Ms. Healey over obtaining tax increment financing for the redevelopment of the bottom five floors of One North Dearborn.

His plan was to bring a Sears store back to State Street. But he needed financial assistance in the form of a TIF to do it.

The negotiations stalled when several aldermen wanted Sears to step up and update its stores in the surrounding communities.

Sears objected, and it was only after Ms. Healey stepped in that both sides were able to reach an agreement that resulted in the large Sears store at State and Dearborn streets today, Mr. Beitler tells me.

“She seems to operate at her best under pressure,” Mr. Beitler recalls. “She's no shrinking violet, but she's fair. She knows how to handle two giants without getting stepped on by either one.”